Maybe you’re not quite sure what barter can do for you and business, or you’re already a member and haven’t been utilizing it as much as you could. Either way, here’s a reminder of how much I, and IMS Barter can help you.

The bottom line. One of the most important aspects of using IMS Barter is the exposure you get to prospects that may never have found you otherwise. And once they’ve tried your product or service, you can continue to build the relationship and possibly upsell them into other products and services.

It’s easy. It can be tough to find and arrange your own barter exchanges. Do you have time to seek them out? How do you know they’ll be interested in a barter exchange? How can you be sure the exchange is equitable and they’ll fulfill their end of the deal? You can trust the IMS Barter system, where those issues simply don’t exist. I’ve also personally met with all of the members in the Minneapolis area, and have your best interests at heart.

Freedom of choice. Use your barter dollars where you want to, you don’t have to do an even exchange with someone. Use yours on another business, use them in the IMS marketplace, or save them up for travel. Your choice.

Save cash. Use your barter dollars instead!

Use your free time to do barter work and build up your barter dollars.

Personal use. There are many restaurants, spas, and home and personal needs providers in the network. Go get that massage you know you need.

Business use. Need a CPA? Business coach? IT help? Don’t we all? They’re all here. Save your cash and get the quality services you need to grow and support your business.

Personal attention. As your Barter Guy, I’m here to make your life easier. Is there a business you’d like to barter with that you’re not seeing in the network? Just let me know and I’ll see what I can do. Need help negotiating an exchange? I’d love to help with that too.

National network. We’re big in other parts of the country too, and growing more every day. Check us out in Denver, Chicago, New York, and many other great cities.

Sell excess inventory. The IMS Barter Marketplace is a great place to move excess inventory because it has national exposure

BONUS REASON: When you join IMS Barter with me, I’ll feature your business in one of my blog articles and in my social media. Have you recently joined and are ready to be highlighted? We probably already reached out to you, but contact me and we’ll get the ball rolling.

Now that you can see how much IMS Barter exchange can help your business, you may be thinking about the possibilities of what it can do for you. Are you ready to let barter help your business? Contact me, David Carroll The Barter Guy at 952-856-8866, to find out how you can join the IMS Barter network. Connect with me on Facebook and LinkedIn to learn more about barter and how IMS members are making it work for them!

Every business is going to have a need for heating, cooling, or electrical at some point. Barter is a great way to cover those expenses that, inevitably, come up. That’s what Chuck Winkler of Ditter Heating, Cooling, and Electrical saw when he heard me, The Barter Guy, speak about the IMS Barter exchange. This week’s blog showcases Ditter Heating, Cooling, and Electrical, who over the past year have utilized barter as an important tool to grow their business.

The most recent experience Chuck and his team of technicians had with barter was in a bar. I was talking with the owner of a bar in Minneapolis, and he happened to mention their air conditioning wasn’t working. This was during the summer, an unacceptable time for a business to lose their cool when their focus is on a good customer experience. I put him in touch with Chuck and, since they were both members, they agreed to do the job through the IMS Barter exchange. When Chuck and his team dug into the cooling problem, they found that a part of the cooling system needed to be replaced. However, since the part needed to be ordered, Ditter’s team repaired the problem for the time being for an immediate fix. Eventually, the part will still need to be replaced, which will turn into $9K worth of business that Ditter wouldn’t have seen without the IMS Barter network and me connecting the two business owners.

Do you own a business that is reliant on an excellent customer experience? Whether your indoor air is too hot or too cold, comfort is essential to getting people in the door and coming back again. Contact me, David Carroll The Barter Guy at 952-856-8866, to become part of the IMS Barter network. Once you are a member, you can start using services like Ditter Heating, Cooling, and Electrical on barter. I’ll even work to connect you with businesses that need your services so you can start earning barter dollars right away! Connect with me on Facebook and LinkedIn to learn more about why you should have barter in your business toolbox!

Are you having a hard time getting found on the web? Many people claim they can help you with this but we have someone with the experience and expertise that can actually get the job done. This is just one of the many ways IMS barter helps you run your business.

Ben Theis is the founder of Skol Marketing, an online marketing company. Ben has extensive experience working for Google, so understands exactly how SEO (search engine optimization) works and how search engines use that information. However, there’s much more to getting found on the web than just SEO. Below are just a few of the services Skol Marketing offers that will get your phone ringing:

YouTube

Google Analytics

Social Media Integration

Website Development and Design

By using Skol Marketing to strengthen your online presence, you will give your business a professional online presence to match your professional face-to-face appearance. By integrating your social media with your site, using Google tools, and having optimized content professionally written for your website, you will have one well-oiled machine to drive business right to your door. Since 97% of consumers do their own product research online before buying, why would you wait?

Ben is one of our newest IMS Barter members. He decided to get Skol Marketing in our network in order to grow his business, as well as find business that he wouldn’t have had otherwise. Ben also saw the networking potential in joining the IMS Barter network and intends to use the directory to get his name out there.

Are you looking for a creative way to find more customers and grow your network? By using IMS Barter, you can expose your business to our network of members who may be looking to use their barter dollars on a service you offer. When you earn barter dollars, you can then turn around and use them to grow your business online through Skol Marketing. By using barter to pay for marketing, something you would normally pay cash for, you can keep your money in your pocket and bring in new cash paying customers. Contact me, David Carroll The Barter Guy at 952-856-8866 to learn more about how you can use barter to grow your business! Have you “liked” my Facebook page yet? I use Facebook and LinkedIn to share my weekly blog updates showcasing a different barter member each week. Connect with me to stay up-to-date on how IMS members are growing their businesses with barter!

Are you a business owner looking for more customers? Many businesses that have had free time to fill in their week have had great success using the IMS Barter network to find these customers. In this blog, I’ll explain how barter can help get you more customers and make more money.

I have yet to come across a business owner who isn’t looking to make more money. I have, however, run across business owners who look at “free time” in their week as time that is costing them money. Barter is one solution some businesses have found to fill up some time in their week. My clients have joined IMS Barter to help make this process easy and to help them make more money.

By joining IMS Barter, you join a network of thousands of other business owners. These business owners earn IMS barter dollars by doing work for other members in the network. Since they can spend their barter dollars anywhere in our network, and they’d rather use these dollars on things they would normally spend cash on, they will contact you to spend their IMS Barter dollars. A great benefit of barter is that you can then turn around and use those dollars to generate more cash. Here are some examples how that might work for you:

* Using barter dollars to advertise for new cash business.

* Earning the trust of IMS members so they refer you other customers that pay cash.

* Spending your barter dollars on things you would normally pay cash for

Are you a business owner who wants to turn their “free time” into cash? Contact me; David Carroll The Barter Guy at 952-856-8866, to learn about the other ways you can use barter to increase your bottom line by 5-10%. Be sure to connect with me on Facebook and LinkedIn to receive my weekly blog updates on how other IMS members are using barter to boost their bottom line!

Are you looking for more customers? In this blog, read about a surprising way to get more business that you may have never heard of.

Sure, we’ve all heard of barter, but have you ever heard of a barter exchange? IMS Barter is a network of business owners all willing to do work on barter. What makes joining a barter exchange different than bartering directly with other businesses for their goods and service? An exchange can actually help you get more cash business. Here’s how:

Our Network Directory – By becoming an IMS member, you join the thousands of other businesses in our directory. IMS members can go online and search for services they’d like to spend their barter dollars on. This gives you exposure to thousands of businesses you wouldn’t have met otherwise.

Referrals – When a new customer comes to you via the barter network, it’s a great way for them to test you out. On top of that, your new client is also likely to refer their friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues to you. Barter is a great way for people to try out your company, trust you, and feel comfortable passing your information out!

Barter Broker – Part of what I do is help businesses connect with other professionals whose services they require. As your barter broker, I work hard to find you business. Part of my job requires networking, so I’m constantly out there meeting new people and businesses. My eyes and ears are always open for an opportunity, and if a connection mentions a need for a service you provide, I’ll make sure to connect you.

Now that you know more about the IMS Barter exchange, you may be thinking about the possibilities of what it can do for your bottom line. Are you ready to let barter help you find more customers? Contact me, David Carroll The Barter Guy at 952-856-8866, to find out how you can join the IMS Barter network. Connect with me on Facebook and LinkedIn to learn more about barter and how IMS members are making it work for them!

When you have a large event that requires audio and video, you want to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible. When you barter for products and services, you also want that transaction to go smooth. In this blog, read about how IMS Barter can be as important of a tool in your business as audiovisual equipment can be for your next big event.

Dennis Schuller, owner of DS Productions, offers clients in the IMS network a video for your business, talent, or for a friend or family member in digital or disc form as low as $150.00.

“The most important part of any kind of production is the effectiveness of the final product. That’s why I stand behind my service and will always make your satisfaction my main priority.”

Set an appointment to discuss your upcoming project or visit us online at www.DSproductions.com. Check out these links to see some advertisements Dennis and DS Productions have worked on:

As a small business offering a product or service, you may have an open house, client appreciation party, or seminar, which will require you to make a professional presentation. By joining IMS Barter, you will be able to earn barter dollars by providing your product or service via barter to other IMS members. With those barter dollars you have earned, you can then turn around and use them to create a professional video for your company. By kicking your advertising up a notch, you’ll be better equipped to show your clients how you can serve them, thus resulting in cash business.

To learn more about using barter as a tool in your business, contact me, David Carroll The Barter Guy, at 952-856-8866 and start earning barter dollars today! I work hard as your barter broker to find you business that you wouldn’t have had otherwise. Connect with me on Facebook and LinkedIn where I share my weekly blog updates, which feature a different IMS member each week!

One question many business owners may have is how to execute business-to-business marketing. For this reason, Mark Moroney with Corporate 1st Impressions, has been a barter member for many years. His goal is to connect businesses with each other, just like IMS is here to help you find new business. After reading this blog, you’ll understand how Corporate 1st Impressions and IMS can get your foot in the door to a company that could become your biggest client.

When your company depends on creating relationships with other businesses, it can be difficult to get to the decision maker simply by going door to door. It’s helpful to make a bigger impression with the use of gifts and personalized, high-quality promotional items. By becoming a sponsor of Corporate 1st Impressions, you’ll do just that. You choose the area you want to represent your business in and when new businesses move into the area, a gift basket filled with your and other business’ promotional items is delivered to welcome the new company to the area. When you choose your area, you’ll be the only business represented in that gift basket. Therefore, if you’re a printer, you’ll be the only printer advertising and welcoming that new business to the neighborhood via the gift basket. By becoming a sponsor, you’ll also be joining a company that has their business plan down to a science. Corporate 1st Impressions is celebrating their 5th year in connecting new or moving companies with the services they need.

Mark has been a long-time barter customer. The IMS Barter system works for him because of the unique businesses it puts him in touch with. I work hard to be Mark’s barter broker to put him in touch with new or moving businesses he wouldn’t have met otherwise. This helps him to introduce his unique service to other businesses that need to get in touch with other companies.

Do you want to learn more about how you can use barter to promote your business and make a good impression on a new company in your area? Contact me, David Carroll The Barter Guy, at 952-856-8866 to get in the IMS Barter network directory today! Connect with me on Facebook and LinkedIn to get updated on my weekly blog where I feature a different barter member each week!

If you’re considering using barter as a tool in your business, you may be wondering if you’ll be able to use barter dollars in order to purchase some of your every-day necessities. This week’s featured member is Pat Trumbull with Mary Kay, a company we’re proud to represent in the IMS network.

Mary Kay cosmetics are some of the highest quality skin-care products on the market, without the high price tag. Since products are marketed and distributed by independent consultants, the company is able to put more money into research and development. The products aren’t just for women either; they’re for anyone who has skin. Below are three products that men and women can both benefit from:

Mary Kay After-Sun Replenishing Gel – Whether it’s winter or summer, we’re always exposed to the sun. If you’re going on a ski trip and close to the sun or getting ready for a warm weather getaway, you’ll want to make sure you’re prepared to take care of your skin in case you get too much sun. The replenishing gel has the cooling affect of aloe without the sticky feeling. Prevent peeling and skin damage!

Satin Hands – Winter is right around the corner and women and men often feel they must suffer through our cold months with dry and cracked hands. Chapped hands are both uncomfortable and embarrassing. Satin Hands exfoliates dry skin and replenishes moisture with the finishing hand cream, which will make winter seem that much shorter!

Satin Lips – With chapped hands come chapped lips this winter. Have you ever wondered why traditional chap sticks never heal dry lips and only relieve the pain for a little while? They have a drying agent in them resulting in you having to buy more chap stick! Satin Lips exfoliates the dry skin from your lips and the lip balm keeps them moisturized for at least six hours. A money-saver and a chapped lip healer!

Mary Kay consultants regularly carry inventory of their product for the convenience of quick delivery to their clients. Pat was eager to get in on IMS network to use barter as a way to get more people introduced to Mary Kay’s amazing products.

Do you have a product you’d like to promote? Joining the IMS Barter network will help you introduce your products to people and businesses you wouldn’t have met otherwise. Barter will help you get in the door and your products will keep the customers coming back, bringing you cash business. To learn more about barter, contact me, David Carroll The Barter Guy, at 952-856-8866 and get in the barter network today! Connect with me on Facebook and LinkedIn where I share a different barter success story and feature a different IMS member each week in my blog!

Part of running a successful business is having a look that not only fits the type of industry you’re in, but also your personality. Men and women have had much success in using the salon, which is this week’s featured IMS member: Alibi Salon.

Alibi Salon is a full-service salon located in the Warehouse District of Minneapolis at 401 N 3rd St. in Suite 100. The owner of Alibi Salon, Jude Cady, got her love of the style industry as being a regular fixture at her father’s barbershop in Fridley, MN. Jude has taken her talent all over the world to different styling events, and considering her beginning; it’s no surprise that her daughter joined the family business as well. In fact, Jude’s daughter is in Chicago at the moment learning about a new technique for creating an updo by sewing the hair. This technique is more comfortable than traditional updos and can be taken out with the snip of one thread. Other services Alibi Salon offers are:

Alibi is also so much more than a salon. When working with brides on their day, they shut down the salon while her and her wedding party is there to ensure their day feels as special as it should. Alibi also gives back to the community by visiting Sojourner, a women’s shelter, once per month. During their visits, Alibi helps residents regain their confidence by offering hair and nail services to the women and children staying at the shelter. Along with philanthropy, Alibi works to support local artists by allowing a featured artist to use Alibi walls as a gallery for their walls.

When Jude went to tackle the dream of starting her own salon, she did it mostly on barter. She did the build-out of her salon by bartering directly with various contractors, and laborers. So, when I presented the IMS Barter exchange to Jude, she fully understood how barter could be an important part of any business owner’s toolbox. Now that Alibi Salon is part of the IMS Barter exchange, Jude is excited to use it to continue to build Alibi’s clientele.

Are you interested in using barter dollars to have Alibi Salon create your perfect look? Join the IMS Barter exchange by contacting me, David Carroll the Barter Guy at 952-856-8866, and start growing your bottom line by 5-10%! Connect with me on Facebook and LinkedIn so you can receive my blog updates, where I feature a new barter member each week!

Photographs are an important part of any business, however it can be difficult to find a talented photographer who will showcase your business how you see it. Liz Allen with Liz Allen Photography has been a marketing lifesaver for many businesses in the Minneapolis metro area. As one of our newest IMS members, I’m excited to showcase Liz and her business this week.

Liz focuses her photography business on headshots for businesses, seniors, family photos, and business photos to be used in marketing materials. A photo session with Liz isn’t your typical session. Conversation flows and you immediately feel comfortable, which shines through to your pictures. Liz is excited and passionate about her work, not afraid to put the extra effort in to get a great shot, and very open to her client’s ideas. Clients constantly tell Liz that they never like pictures of themselves, and time after time Liz proves them wrong. In fact, clients love their photos so much they have a hard time choosing just one photo!

When I met Liz, she was unfamiliar to the concept of a barter exchange, like many of my clients initially are. When you do work within the barter exchange, you earn barter dollars. Those dollars can then be spent with any of the many other businesses and services within the IMS Barter exchange. Once I explained the concept to Liz, she jumped at the chance. Since many of her photo shoots are with businesses, she can allow them to pay using barter dollars. However, Liz doesn’t necessarily have to spend her barter dollars with that business. In fact, Liz is banking up her barter dollars as she plans to use the exchange as much as possible to assist in building her and her family a home they will be absolutely enamored with.

Are you a business with outdated photos? Perhaps your photos don’t adequately showcase you as the experienced professional that you are. Help Liz realize her goal of building a house on barter! Contact me, David Carroll The Barter Guy at 952-856-8866. I’d love to connect you with our other IMS Barter members so you can start increasing your bottom line by 5-10%. Connect with me on Facebook and LinkedIn where I showcase a different barter member every week!